UK261 £Stansted: flight delay and cancellation rights

Checked 15 Sep 2026·7 min read

£220, £350 or £520 per passenger is owed under UK261 when a Stansted departure arrives three hours or more late, or for Stansted cancelled flights outside the article 5(1)(c) windows, unless extraordinary circumstances apply. The operating airline pays, not the airport.

• UK261 ££220–£520per passenger, 3 h or more late at arrival

#UK261 £Which rules cover delayed flights departing Stansted?

Article 3(1)(a) of UK261 covers passengers departing from any UK airport, so a Stansted departure counts on any airline. When the delay, cancellation or denied-boarding conditions are met, the operating air carrier pays the £220 to £520; Stansted Airport never does.

Under article 3(1A), a multi-leg flight booked as a single unit departs from the first leg’s starting point. A Stansted booking that changes aircraft abroad is a Stansted departure throughout.

Departing from Stansted? Start at the UK261 hub; the compensation page holds the distance table and claim letter, and airline refused compensation covers refusals. Other airports sit on the airports hub. Check live status on Stansted’s departures board.

Not your situation? A flight departing an EU airport falls under EU261. Routes to or from Canada: see the Air Passenger Protection Regulations. Flying in the US? US federal rules differ: US DOT rules. Still unsure? Find the law for your flight.

Source: UK261 art. 3(1)(a), 3(1A) — legislation.gov.uk; EU261 art. 3(5) — eur-lex.europa.eu; departures board — stanstedairport.com, checked 2026-09-15.

#How much compensation is due for a delayed flight from Stansted?

£220 per passenger up to 1,500 km, £350 from 1,500 to 3,500 km and £520 beyond: UK261 article 7(1) sets these amounts in pounds, owed once a Stansted departure is three hours or more late at the final destination, when passengers are permitted to exit the aircraft.

Past 3,500 km, the CAA gives £260 for arriving between three and four hours late and £520 for more than four hours: article 7(2) says the airline “may” cut the amount by 50%.

A euro amount on a Stansted claim page is a warning sign. Airport pages that quote €250 to €600 “under EU legislation” for UK departures miss that the UK’s own article 7(1), substituted by SI 2019/278 and in force since 31 December 2020, pays in pounds. Euros belong only to the EU261 overlap described further down, and converting the euro figure produces a number no statute sets.

For a cancellation, two weeks' warning or more means no compensation. Between two weeks and seven days, none is owed if the offered replacement departs no more than 2 hours before and arrives less than 4 hours after your original times. Inside seven days: no more than 1 hour before and less than 2 hours after. The airline must prove when it told you.

Extraordinary circumstances, defined in article 2(o), remove only the compensation when the airline proves them: care under article 9, and re-routing or a refund after a cancellation, stay owed. Airport strike? See the strike compensation guide. Screenshot the cancellation message.

Source: UK261 art. 2(n), 2(o), 5(1), 5(3)-(4), 6(3)-(4), 7(1) (SI 2019/278), 7(2) and 9 — legislation.gov.uk; EU261 art. 7(1) — eur-lex.europa.eu; CAA, Delays — caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-15.

#How punctual were flights at Stansted in 2025?

179,552 flights at Stansted were matched to a planned gate time in calendar year 2025, and 64.0% of them ran on time by the Civil Aviation Authority’s measure, from 15 minutes early to 15 minutes late. Stansted delays averaged 16.3 minutes, and 0.3% of flights were cancelled with less than 24 hours' notice.

That on-time share adds two CAA bands: 15 minutes early to 1 minute early, and 0 to 15 minutes late. The London Luton page sets those two bands against Stansted’s.

Source: UK Civil Aviation Authority, 2025 Annual Punctuality Statistics Summary Analysis, calendar year 2025 - caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-15.

Stansted’s share of cancelled flights was the lowest of six: Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Stansted itself. Widen that to the 25 airports the file covers and three sit below Stansted’s 0.31%, the lowest of them East Midlands at 0.12%. Essex’s smaller airport, London Southend, is one of the three, at 0.26%; it matched just 5,020 flights all year. Bournemouth, at 0.21%, is the other.

CAA punctuality statistics are not compensation eligibility. No delay band in them is a legal threshold either: they average every airline at Stansted over 2025. A delay claim counts only your own arrival, when passengers were permitted to exit the aircraft. Write down that time and claim on it.

#Where do you complain about an airline after a disrupted Stansted flight?

8 weeks without an answer to your written complaint lets a UK261 dispute go to alternative dispute resolution (ADR). The CAA approves 2 free providers, AviationADR and CEDR. The operating airline’s membership, not the airport, decides which body hears the case.

The CAA’s PACT team is “only likely to consider” a complaint when the airline is not a member of an approved ADR body, and it will not handle one with less than a year left to take legal action. It can raise a valid complaint but cannot impose a solution.

If you sue in England and Wales, you have 6 years: article 3(9) applies section 9 of the Limitation Act 1980. Scotland and Northern Ireland are on the time limits page. Send your complaint today and keep a dated copy.

Source: CAA, Alternative Dispute Resolution and How the CAA can help — caa.co.uk; aviationadr.org.uk; cedr-assist.com; UK261 art. 3(9), Limitation Act 1980 s.9 — legislation.gov.uk, checked 2026-09-15.

#Do the rules change for flights arriving at Stansted?

UK261 covers a flight into Stansted from outside the UK only “if the operating air carrier of the flight concerned is a Community carrier or a UK air carrier” (article 3(1)(b)(i)), unless you received benefits or compensation and assistance in the country you left. A flight from another UK airport counts as a departure.

Flights into Stansted: cover by operating airline

Outside-UK origins turn on the operating airline’s licence, never on the airport.

EU261 can add euros. Any flight into Stansted from an EU airport is an EU departure under its article 3(1)(a), on any airline. From Stansted into the EU, it applies only on a Community carrier. It does not apply if you received benefits or compensation and assistance in the UK. Check the operating carrier on your booking against the CAA or European Commission licence list.

Source: UK261 art. 2(c), 2(m) and 3(1)(b) — legislation.gov.uk; EU261 art. 2(c) and 3(1) — eur-lex.europa.eu; licence lists — caa.co.uk, transport.ec.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.

General information, not legal advice. For your specific case: the CAA, Citizens Advice or a solicitor.

#Sources

• Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 as it forms part of UK law, arts. 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9 - legislation.gov.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
• The Aviation (Consumers) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (SI 2023/1370) - legislation.gov.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
• Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, arts. 2 and 3 - eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.
• Civil Aviation Authority, Delays - caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
• UK Civil Aviation Authority, 2025 Annual Punctuality Statistics Summary Analysis - caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
• Civil Aviation Authority, Alternative Dispute Resolution for air passengers - caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
• AviationADR, airline and airport members - aviationadr.org.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
• CEDR, Aviation - cedr-assist.com, checked 2026-09-15.
• Civil Aviation Authority, How the CAA can help - caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
• Limitation Act 1980, s.9 - legislation.gov.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
• Civil Aviation Authority, airline licence holders - caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
• European Commission, EU air carriers holding an active operating licence - transport.ec.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.
• Stansted Airport, Flight Departures - stanstedairport.com, checked 2026-09-15.

#FAQ

Does Stansted pay compensation for delays?

No, and it cannot be made to. Article 3(5) names the operating air carrier as the debtor, and Stansted Airport is not a party to a UK261 claim at all. The carrier owes £220, £350 or £520 once the flight reaches its final destination three hours or more late, unless it proves extraordinary circumstances.

Who do I claim from after a Stansted delay?

The operating airline first, in writing. After 8 weeks the CAA's list decides where the dispute goes next: AviationADR for Ryanair, easyJet and TUI Airways, CEDR for British Airways and BA CityFlyer, and Schlichtung Reise & Verkehr in Berlin for Lufthansa, Austrian, Brussels Airlines and Swiss.